The first bananas to be cultivated were probably plants of Musa acuminata growing in the humid forests of Malaysia.
Musa acuminata is one of about 30 wild bananas that are known to occur in south-east Asia.
M. acuminata is diploid: its somatic cells contain two basic chromosome sets, not four or six. It has 22 chromosomes, so that the basic chromosome number (n) is 11 – other wild banana have n=7, 9 or 10.
One of the species, Musa acuminata ‘Dwarf Lady Finger’ is valued for its small, finger size bananas and slender growth. It produces deliciously sweet bananas within a year or two, flowering and fruiting when less than 4 feet tall.
Musa acuminata
